Former Lightning prospect Adam Henrich, who was not re-signed last summer after struggling with AHL Springfield, has been a completely different player recently while on a tryout contract with the Norfolk Admirals.

The Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, recently caught up with Henrich after the former Brampton Battalion forward had a 4 point night leading the Ads to a 5-3 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

â€œI realized after last season I had to be more humble and work harder,â€ Henrich, who has 5 goals and 6 assists in 6 games since his promotion, told the newspaper.

No matter what his role is, Dana Tyrell's work ethic remains the same.

After playing in the shadows of Devin Setoguchi, Eric Hunter, and Jared Walker last season, Tyrell has broke out in a big way this season with the Prince George Cougars.

"Even if things aren't going for Dana offensively, his work ethic is always the strongest on the ice. He is avery humble young man who plays the same way if he's the main guy or not," said Cougars head coach Drew Schoneck.

"Last year, he wanted to be 'the man', but he had a strong supporting cast of players. This year, he has taken that extra pressure and really been a force for our team in so many ways."

Itâ€™s been a lengthy evaluation process but the time is finally here!

Today, Bolt Prospects is releasing its Preliminary Rankings for the 2007-2008 season. Due to the addition of the Lightningâ€™s 2007 draftees, who will be appearing in the rankings for the first time, we have re-expanded the list back to 25. Seven players who have never appeared in the rankings make their debut this Fall.

When Helenius gets really animated, he explodes into a steady cadence of Finnish and English. It's a hybrid of discordant syllables, and though no one really understands each word, the meaning is clear.

"There's some form of yelling coming out of his mask, but no one really knows what he's saying," Seattle coach Rob Sumner said.

"It just comes out naturally," Helenius said with a wide smile. "The players can figure out what I'm saying. There might be a couple of bad words, but those are bad words in Finnish, too."

I was fortunate enough to be invited down to The Scope before Saturday morningâ€™s optional skate to talk to Norfolk Head Coach Steve Stirling and Norfolk General Manager Claude Loiselle. At about 9 am I made my way down to the building in the heart of a quiet downtown Norfolk. The hockey operations staff were in a good mood after beating the Binghamton Senators 5-1 in the Admiralsâ€™ home opener, and there was a feeling in the building that things were starting to get on the right track.

In the new era of the NHL where the salary cap reigns, it is imperative clubs find and develop their own talent through their farm system. Since the lockout in 2004-2005, the Lightning has been forced to compete to stay at the top of the food chain by carefully shopping for affordable free agents and coordinating financially-sensitive trades. While other clubs have had the option of plugging multiple holes with cost-feasible prospects, the Lightning has been forced to look outside the organizational depth chart for help.

Mike Lundin arrived at Lightning training camp last week and did his best not to be star-struck at the amount of star power assembled in Tampa Bay's locker room.

Following a four-year career at the University of Maine where he posted 12 goals and 58 points in 159 games, the 2004 fourth-round draft pick enters his first year as a professional trying to find his place within the organizational roster.

Judging from his first few days of camp, his stock might be higher than previously thought.

Since Jay Feaster took over as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2002, two things have stood out as being top priorities with the organizationâ€”winning and work ethic.

Success is earned.

In this meritocracy system, Feaster will do whatever it takes to win, and if a player doesnâ€™t perform up to expectations, he is in danger of losing his spot on the depth chart, if not the roster.

Starting off their pro careers on the right foot is essential for young prospects in the organization, such as the 20 that finished eighth out of eight teams in last weekâ€™s Traverse City (TC) prospects tournament in Michigan. Individual performances aside, winning is priority number one with the club and the last-place finish is not sitting well with the general manager.

â€œI am not pleased with the results,â€ Feaster made sure to tell Bolt Prospects before providing player evaluations.

Wearing a St. Cloud State hockey T-shirt, on Tuesday he began his assimilation with the rest of the Huskiesâ€™ freshmen.

A forward from Switzerland, Cunti attended his first class earlier in the day, then was one of the first to arrive for an afternoon workout at the National Hockey Center.

While eight other incoming recruits started school last week, Cunti is a late addition. He committed in July and it wasnâ€™t until little more than a week ago that he made the decision and processed the necessary paperwork in an effort to begin college this year instead of in 2008.

Heâ€™s still waiting for clearance by the NCAA, but expects to be able to play when the team opens the season next month.

As the countdown to the start of the 2007 Traverse City (TC) Prospects Tournament finally comes to an end tomorrow, the future is now for many of the prospects making up the Lightningâ€™s 2007 TC squad.